King Charles privately congratulated former US President Jimmy Carter on his milestone achievement.
Carter became the first former American president to become a centenarian when he reached his milestone age today.
His Majesty’s message expressed warm personal greetings and great admiration for Carter’s lifetime of duty and public service.
Living the last 19 months in home hospice care, the Georgia Democrat and 39th president served one presidential term from 1977 to 1981.
King Charles privately congratulated Jimmy Carter
PA
He worked more than four decades leading The Carter Centre, which he and his late wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope”.
Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson and chair of The Carter Centre governing board, said: “Not everybody gets 100 years on this earth, and when somebody does, and when they use that time to do so much good for so many people, it’s worth celebrating.”
He added: “These last few months, 19 months, now that he’s been in hospice, it’s been a chance for our family to reflect.
“And then for the rest of the country and the world to really reflect on him. That’s been a really gratifying time.”
Queen Elizabeth and Jimmy Carter photographed together in 1977
PA
The former president was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, where he has lived more than 80 of his 100 years.
US President Joe Biden, who was the first sitting senator to endorse Carter’s 1976 campaign, praised his longtime friend for an “unwavering belief in the power of human goodness”.
In 1977, the late Queen Elizabeth II was pictured in a yellow gown alongside Carter, in a black tie and tuxedo, when he came to London and attended a dinner at Buckingham Palace.
The former president, the late Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh had dinner together in Buckingham Palace following a Nato Ministerial Meeting at Lancaster House in London.
Jimmy Carter was the American president between 1977 and 1981
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At the dinner, when the Queen Mother arrived, Carter “broke away, took her by the hand and escorted her to the assembled line of guests”, according to reports at the time.
The Queen Mother lived to the age of 101 and died in March 2002.
Carter’s wife of over 75 years, Rosalynn Carter, was diagnosed with dementia in 2023.
The former first lady died in November 2023, and Carter made a rare public appearance at her funeral service later that month.